Italian children receive large, elaborately wrapped,
hollow chocolate eggs with a surprise gift(s) inside.
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I found the following anonymous poesia (poem) on filastrocche.it, a website in Italian for Italian children and their parents — featuring jokes, activities, etc. related to holidays and other special days — a great study tool.
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I used the poem in my Italian Conversation & Study group, and they enjoyed it so much that I decided to share it on my blog. The translation is mine. Enjoy.
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Buona Pasqua!
Happy Easter!
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Nei miei sogni ho immaginato
In my dreams I imagined
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un grande uovo colorato.
a big colored egg.
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Per chi era? Per la gente
Who was it for? For the people
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dall’Oriente all’Occidene:
from the Orient to the Occident (West)
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Pieno, pieno di sorprese
Full, full of surprises
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destinate ad ogni paese.
meant for every country.
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C’era dentro la saggezza
There was inside wisdom
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e poi tanta tenerezza,
and then lots of tenderness,
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l’altruismo, la bontà,
altruism, goodness,
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gioia in grande quantità.
joy in great quantity.
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Tanta pace, tanto amore
Much peace, much love
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da riempire ogni cuore.
to fill every heart.
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I wish everyone — however you celebrate this time of year —
Love, Health, and Abundance. Auguri!
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Did you enjoy this poesia? How do you celebrate this time of year? I’d love to hear your comments below!
Charlie Sheen prende in giro un programma di cucina (CS spoofs a cooking show)
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L’altra sera in classe, uno studente ha cominciato di parlare di Charlie Sheen. (The other evening in class, a student started talking about Charlie Sheen.)
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Oddio ho pensato, finora ero completamente riusciuta ad evitare i sordidi dettagli della star del momento nel mondo dei pettegolezzi. (Good grief I thought, until then I’d managed to completely avoid the sordid details of the star of the moment in the world of gossip.)
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Va bene ho detto alla classe, ma se volete parlare di Charlie Sheen (Carletto Lucentezza in Italian!) perlomeno facciamolo in modo che vi aiuti ad imparare l’italiano. (Alright I said to the class, but if you want to talk about Charlie Sheen, at least lets do it in a way that helps you learn Italian.)
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Ditemi qualche verbo che vi viene in mente quando pensate a lui. (Tell me some verbs that come to mind when you think of him.)
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E così il più famoso mascalzone del giorno ha finalmente potuto servire ad uno scopo utile…(And in this way, the most famous ‘bad boy’ of the day finally got to serve a useful purpose…)
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… La bizzarra storia di Carletto Lucentezza ha ispirato una bella lezione di coniugazione di verbi italiani nel presente indicativo. (… The bizzarre story of Charlie Sheen inspired a great lesson in conjugating Italian verbs in the present indicative tense.)
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* V I N C E N T E ! *(WINNING!)
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Eccone i verbi ispirati da Carletto Lucentezza
(Here are those verbs inspired by Charlie Sheen):
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Here’s how to say them:
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First conjugation/-are verbs:
recitare = to act (in the sense of TV or theater), e.g., “Charlie Sheen ha recitato in vari film e programmi televisivi.” (Charlie Sheen has acted in various films and TV shows.)
drogarsi = to use drugs, to drug oneself, e.g., “Lui parla apertamente di drogarsi.” (He speaks openly about using drugs.)
rovinare = to ruin, e.g., “Le sue azioni stanno rovinando la sua reputazione.” (His actions are ruining his reputation.)
tifare = to cheer on or root for. One student said, “Facevo il tifo per Charlie, ma ora è troppo sopra le righe.” (I used to root for him Charlie, but now he’s gone too far.)
approfittare = to take advantage or make the most of, e.g., Lui approfitta della situazione.” (He takes/is taking advantage of the situation.)
ignorare = to ignore, e.g., È quasi impossibile ignorare la bizzarra storia di Charlie Sheen.” (It’s almost impossible to ignore the bizarre story of Charlie Sheen.)
Second conjugation/-ere verbs
deludere = to delude or let down, e.g., “Charlie Sheen ha deluso i suoi fans.” (Charlie has let his fans down.)
offendere = to offend, e.g., “Le sue azione offendono molte persone.” (His actions offend many people.)
ricevere = to receive, e.g., Lui riceve 2 millioni di dollari per ogni episodio di Due uomini e mezzo.” (He receives $2 million for each episode of Two and a Half Men.)
Third conjugation/-ire verbs:
impazzire (impazzirsi) = to go mad, crazy, e.g., “Charlie Sheen si è impazzito.” (Charlie Sheen has gone crazy.)
dire = to say, e.g., “Dice delle cose che non hanno senso.” (He says things that don’t make sense.)
capire = to understand, e.g., “Il pubblico non capisce il suo strano comportamento.” (The public doesn’t understand his strange behavior.)
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Due uomini e mezzo / Two and a Half Men, in Italian
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What do you think of Charlie Sheen?
What verbs or vocabulary does he bring to mind for you?
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